Trial and error, again

A couple of months ago I went in for my annual eye exam and we learned that I am in the early stages of glaucoma. I was referred to a specialist who prescribed a daily eye drop containing a prostaglandin analog. (That just rolls off the tongue, "prostaglandin analog.") She instructed me to apply the drops only to my left eye, so my untreated right eye would be the "control." The nerd in my really liked this approach.

Well, after a month of trying the first drops, I went in to be evaluated again and we learned that the drops had no effect. A little disappointing, but no worries - I was prescribed a different type of prostaglandin analog to try on my left eye.

And it's been another month and I went in again, and we learned again that the second type of drops had no effect. So, a little more disappointing. We have abandoned that class of medication, and now I am trying a combination beta-blocker and carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. That's a lot more syllables and sounds even more impressive "combination beta-blocker and carbonic anhydrase inhibitor."

These new drops sting a bit, and I need to take them twice a day which is a nuisance since each time I have to take my contact out, put the drop in, keep my eye closed for 5 minutes, etc. And the list of possible side effects include depression, fatigue, memory problems, mental fuzziness. Not saying I don't have some of those symptoms under *normal* circumstances! I started these new drops yesterday and have been dealing with a headache all of today. I'm hoping this is just a coincidence.